Your understanding about the origins of Chinese American food may be incorrect – mine certainly were.

For example, I thought that most of the Chinese dishes that we consider to be American favorites were modified by Chinese chefs to fit American tastes and ingredients, but that’s not always the case. 

The Chinese immigrants who arrived in Southern Arizona in the late 1800’s to help build the transcontinental railroad were primarily Cantonese. They often went on to open grocery stores and farms because their background was largely in agriculture. Also, they opened restaurants, which helped shape the American perception of Chinese food to the extent that Cantonese favorites like Honey Walnut Shrimp, chow mein, and ho fun became synonymous icons of Chinese American cuisine, when in fact all of these meals are straight-up Cantonese.

Read the rest of my feature article, Asian Spice: An American Dream, written and photographed for Discover Marana HERE.

Additional, unpublished photographs of Chinese takeout dishes from the restaurant are featured in this post.